Tag Archives: Welfare-Warfare State

What About Karzai Cash Before 9-11?

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EPJ13

“The entry below at History Commons (www.historycommons.com) includes a reference to a Vanity Fair article and the note that ‘Blee hands Massoud a briefcase full of cash.’  That would be before 9/11, given that Massoud was assassinated a couple days before 9/11.  I’ve also seen references to Karzai being aligned with / working with Massoud in the years before 9/11. Did cash payments to people like this accelerate in July/August 2001, amidst intensified covert operations in Afghanistan or elsewhere in Central Asia?”

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/05/what-about-karzai-cash-before-9-11.html

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The Bennett Hypothesis: Why College Tuitions Are Out of Control

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EPJ13

“Some researchers argue that government subsidies have had the perverse effect of encouraging colleges to increase tuition so as to capture more federal dollars, an effect known in the literature as the ‘Bennett hypothesis’. To see how this could work, imagine a school that charged $0 in tuition and fees. Suppose that the federal government then offered $5,000 vouchers to pay for college tuition, but only at schools that charge tuition. Obviously, our hypothetical free school is going to increase tuition to $5,000 a year to take advantage of that money. That’s just money on the table.”

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/05/the-bennett-hypothesis-why-college.html

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Obama Sees ObamaCare as Legacy Too Worthy to Resist

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“Obama summoned about 20 senior administration officials to the White House’s Roosevelt Room for an hour-long meeting on the implementation of his health-care law.  Obama began by reminding his staff that the Affordable Care Act would be one of his major legacies and its execution among the highest priorities of his second term, according to a Democrat familiar with the gathering. The session, which has been followed by regular presidential briefings, led to a two-track campaign to defend the measure against united Republican opposition declaring it a failure and to motivate uninsured Americans to sign up for health-care coverage.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-05-09/obama-sees-health-law-as-legacy-too-worthy-to-resist-in-new-push

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83-year-old nun gets 20 year sentence for ‘symbolic’ nuclear facility break-in

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“An 83-year-old nun who broke into a Tennessee depleted uranium storage facility in 2012 and splashed human blood on several surfaces, exposing a massive security hole at the nation’s only facility used to store radioactive conventional munitions, was convicted Wednesday and sentenced to a term of up to 20 years in prison. She and two other peace activists, 64-year-old Michael Walli and 56-year-old Greg Boertje-Obed, were convicted of ‘invasion of a nuclear facility’ in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, even though investigators admitted they did not get close to any actual nuclear material.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/09/83-year-old-nun-gets-20-year-sentence-for-symbolic-nuclear-facility-break-in/

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U.S. Currently Fighting 74 Different Wars … That It Will Publicly Admit

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“By mid-2010, the Obama administration had increased the presence of Special Operations forces from sixty countries to seventy-five countries. [A]mong the countries where [Joint Special Operations Command] teams had been deployed under the Obama administration were: Iran, Georgia, Ukraine, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Yemen, Pakistan (including in Baluchistan) and the Philippines. These teams also at times deployed in Turkey, Belgium, France and Spain. JSOC was also supporting US Drug Enforcement Agency operations in Colombia and Mexico.”

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/05/u-s-currently-fighting-74-different-wars-that-it-publicly-admits.html

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“Butt Out,” 60% of 18 to 34-Year Olds Tell Federal Government

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“Despite a horrendous unemployment rate of 45% for this age group — almost as bad as Spain’s and Greece’s — about 60% of America’s young adults believe that the government should get out of their lives. Even more amazing, half believe that the government is not helping the economy. Two-thirds are favorable to entrepreneurship. These opinions were made clear in a recent poll sponsored by the Young America Foundation. Unfortunately, only 44% think that free markets are positive.”

http://teapartyeconomist.com/2013/05/09/butt-out-60-of-18-to-34-year-olds-tell-federal-government/

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The Pension Rate-of-Return Fantasy

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“In June of 2012, Calpers lowered the expected rate of return on its portfolio to 7.5% from 7.75%. Calpers had last dropped the rate in 2004, from 8.25%. But even the 7.5% return is fiction. Wall Street would laugh if the matter weren’t so serious.  And the trouble is not just in California. Public-pension funds in Illinois use an average of 8.18% expected returns. The 100 top U.S. public companies with defined benefit pension assets of $1.3 trillion have an average expected rate of return of 7.5%. Three of them are over 9%. (Since 2000, these assets have returned 5.6%.) Who wouldn’t want 7.5%-8% returns these days? Ten-year U.S. Treasury bonds are paying 1.74%.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324100904578403213835796062.html

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Moody’s: ‘Strategic Default’ Viewed as Less Taboo by Cities

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“The number of defaults from U.S. municipal issuers rated by Moody’s Investors Service has more than tripled to 4.6 per year since 2007, showing willingness to pay can’t be taken for granted, the company said in a report. Five municipalities rated by Moody’s defaulted last year, including Stockton, California, which became the biggest U.S. city to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in June. Wenatchee, Washington, failed to honor a guarantee on an interest payment for a sports arena. The figure doesn’t include issuers such as Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, which ‘selectively defaulted’ on contingent liabilities, the report said.”

http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/moodys-Strategic-Default-taboo-cities/2013/05/07/id/503188?s=al&promo_code=13678-1

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Bill Bonner: ‘War’ takes place in the shadows

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BillBonner

“How long will it be before the clandestine terrorist agencies begin their own campaigns of terror? Perhaps they already have.  With so many secret agencies plotting, conniving, enticing, luring, fomenting, and sowing their evil seeds, it won’t be long before something takes root. One group of spooks will lay a trap…and catch another group….and accuse a third group, whom they will mistake for real terrorists. One bomb will go off. Another attempt will be thwarted at the last minute. Still another group, led on a double-agent and financed by secret funds provided by the taxpayer, will be hauled in front of the TV cameras.”

http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Hackers-gain-access-to-all-edu-domains-1858471.html

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Young people are three times as likely to be unemployed in global economy

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“Global youth unemployment has risen to close to its crisis peak and will climb higher as the economic recovery falters, a report by a UN agency has warned. The International Labour Office said the youth unemployment rate had been falling since hitting 12.7% in 2009, but this year had climbed again to stand at 12.6%. The rate is forecast to reach 12.8% by 2018. The ILO paints a grim picture for school leavers and graduates across large parts of the world, saying young people continue to be almost three times more likely than adults to be unemployed.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/08/young-people-are-three-times-as-likely-to-be-unemployed-in-global-economy/

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